This work demonstrates an alternative method to prepare allylated arenes and aryl-substituted allylic esters via catalytic decarboxylative C-C bond formation using aromatic carboxylic acids and allylic halides and esters.

We report the first synthesis of bridged pillararenes. Meso-form pillar[6]arenes were diastereo-selectively formed by bridging units of a per-hydroxylated pillar[6]arene in an alternating up-and-down manner with dialkyldichlorosilanes.

Bridgeless double metallocalix[4]arenes possessing two orthogonally arranged dinuclear cavitands were obtained from a Re2(CO)10, rigid bis-chelating OO donor (H2-L), and a flexible bis-ditopic NN donor (L') by a one-pot approach.

We describe a straightforward protocol for a smooth dehydrogenative annulation reaction between various arenes and terminal alkynes using a catalytic amount of CuBr2 and molecular oxygen. 3-Methyleneisoindoline derivatives are prepared in high yields.

Ortho-directed functionalisation of arenes using lithium alkylmagnesate bases were achieved, demonstrating the potential use of arylmagnesates as suitable arylanions, without a further transmetallation step, for challenging functionalizations such as fluorination, hydroxylation, arylation, vinylation and alkylation through epoxide ring-opening.

The direct intramolecular C-H arylation of unactivated arenes is a viable strategy for the synthesis of aporphine alkaloids. These reactions occur with 3 to 5 mol% catalyst and generate the aporphine skeleton in up to 99% yield.

A new recyclable rhodium catalyst was synthesized by a simple procedure from readily available reagents, which showed high activities in the hydrogenation of various arenes under 1 atm H2 at room temperature.

Highly effective binding of neutral dinitriles by simple alkyl-substituted pillar[5]arenes and the formation of interpenetrated geometries are reported. The resulting host-guest complexes represent one of the most efficient recognition motifs based on pillararenes.

Microwave irradiation of chloroacetylarenes and enamines induced an aza-Darzens reaction followed by rearrangement of the aziridinium intermediate to give (2-amino-3-alkenoyl)arenes that were reduced selectively to syn-beta-aminoalcohols as pseudo-ephedrine analogues.

By employing superacidic fluoroantimonate ionic liquid (IL), [bmim][Sb(2)F(11)], as catalyst, not only thermodynamically-controlled but also kinetically-controlled Friedel-Crafts alkenylations of arenes with alkynes have been realized for the first time.